AppleCare representatives can do a lot of things for Mac owners suffering software issues… except when it comes to malware. In an internal support article leaked to ZDNet, Apple instructs its call center representatives on how to handle calls from users reporting that they have a machine infected with the “Mac Defender” malware trojan. And, as you can see, Apple is definitely taking the hands-off approach. “AppleCare does not provide support for the removal of the malware,” reads the memo. “You should not confirm or deny whether the customer’s Mac is infected or not.” Apple certainly isn’t the first company to instruct its support representatives to shy away from virus/malware assistance, but it is notable as it is the first major Mac OS X virus that — thanks to some moderate social engineering — is propagating. Apple has yet to issue a public statement about the software’s existence or infection levels. The full memo is after the break. Read more

One thing is certain in business: things will go wrong. So when you first start a business, one of your priorities should be emergency planning.

Put a disaster plan in place that fits your situation– in case supply lines are cut, a hurricane hits, or other natural catastrophe looms — because if disaster strikes, a lot of people will look to you for answers.

It was pretty much known about since last night, but Microsoft and Skype have now obliterated any lingering doubt in the matter: the Redmond-based software giant will acquire the internet telephony company for a cool $8.5 billion in cash. Xbox and Kinect support are explicitly mentioned in the announcement of this agreement, as is Windows Phone integration — both the gaming and mobile aspects being presumably key incentives for Microsoft to acquire Skype. A new Microsoft Skype Division will now be opened up to accommodate the newcomers, with current Skype CEO Tony Bates becoming president of that operation and reporting directly to Steve Ballmer.

With BlackBerry World 2011 coming to a close, you knew there had to be some unannounced news waiting to come out of the conference, right? We have been told by multiple sources that RIM is planning on releasing its followup to the BlackBerry PlayBook around the holidays this year. That’s clearly less than a year from the April launch of the original PlayBook — and the 4G versions aren’t even out yet — but there is a key differentiating factor here… the screen size. It’s entire possibly that RIM wants to play in both segments of the tablet market, and the PlayBook 2 could probably be thought of as an additional PlayBook model as opposed to the second-generation tablet. We have been told this tablet will be in the 10-inch range as opposed to the current model, which sports a 7-inch screen. The first model is selling pretty well according to some analysts, and a bigger version of the tablet along with an update OS that includes an email client, BBM and more could really hit the sweet spot. That’s all we have on the upcoming PlayBook 2, but hit the break for some details on BlackBerry OS 7.

This information is unconfirmed, but we have been told that the just-announced BlackBerry Bold 9900 / 9930 won’t be launching until mid-August at the earliest. We previously reported the device would launch in the June / July timeframe and it still looks like that was the original plan, but apparently the launch was delayed for reasons unknown. Additionally, we were told that the rest of RIM’s 2011 lineup we exclusively leaked and previewed won’t be announced until BlackBerry’s DevCon conference on October 18th. Apparently the higher ups at RIM have been vocally unhappy about the “disproportionate” reallocation of resources to the PlayBook away from the OS 7 lineup. We’ll see how this all shakes out soon enough.

I don’t think i’ve ever been so excited about a calendar before, it’s good to see Rim working so hard on the playbooks success, it’s just too bad we have to wait until summer. Hopefully we’ll see this and 3G versions of the playbook at the same time.

Earlier today, Research In Motion announced its intentions to bring its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) its mobile device security and administration services to both Android and iOS. Through its acquisition of ubitexx, the Canadian company is looking to expand the portfolio of mobile devices its BES solution supports. “The single web-based console is being designed to provide IT administrators with a simple and efficient way to distribute software and manage policies, inventory, security and services for BlackBerry devices, as well as other mobile devices,” reads the press release. “IT administrators will be able to manage devices over-the-air, including activating devices, distributing software and applications, locking or wiping devices, enforcing and resetting device passwords, setting IT policies, and managing optional mobile applications for end users. Certain features are expected to remain exclusive to BlackBerry devices because such capabilities are built into the design of a device’s operating system.” The new solution should be available “later this year.” Hit the jump for the full release.